“But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…” 1 Peter 3:15

It is very easy to assume this verse is only meant for Christians who have a spiritual gifting for preaching or teaching. After all, don’t we all know a fellow believer who can share the gospel with every person they meet without nerves or hesitation? We may reason and say, “They have the gifts needed for evangelism but I do not! I guess I can leave sharing the gospel for them and I will focus on encouraging those who are already followers of Christ.”

Is evangelism a calling for a specific group of believers?

Let’s look at the context leading up to 1 Peter 3:15 to find out if this is the case. 1 Peter 3:1-7 are verses directed towards Christian wives and husbands, then in verse 8, Peter transitions by saying, “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.”

Verse 8 begins the section with instructions for all believers. Verse 15 is in the middle of these exhortations, saying “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…”

Clearly we are all supposed to revere Christ as Lord, and this leads directly into Peter’s instructions to be ready to give an answer for the hope that we have. So this verse is meant for all Jesus-followers. We are all responsible to share the good news with those around us.

How can we live out 1 Peter 3:15 practically?

You do not have to be gifted in preaching or speaking in order to be able to share your testimony and relationship with Christ with others. You don’t need to be an extrovert who is a natural at talking with strangers or preaching to a crowd. God doesn’t require all of us to become Billy Graham.

He just asks us to be willing to share the good news with the people He puts in our lives and paths. As we look at the people around us through God’s eyes, loved by Him, we will have compassion towards them and thus want to share the greatest news in this world!

If you’ve never talked to someone about your faith before, it never hurts to practice! You don’t have to prepare a script and memorize it, but spending time in the Word and reflecting on what God has done in your life will also make it easier for you to share those stories with your friend, no matter what their religious background is. We have written a set of questions to walk you through this process in this blog post.

Notice that in this verse, Peter asks us to be ready to answer anyone “....who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…” When we truly honor Christ in our hearts, it will reflect in our lives, our conversations, our actions and reactions. People will notice that we are different and they will ask. 

Many of us try to blend in so others would not notice our different values and language. If that is you, then no one will ask for “the reason for the hope that is in you.”

Is this what you want your Christian life to be? A stagnant pond instead of a running stream that carries fresh water?

May this verse inspire us every day to honor Christ in our lives so we would expect people to notice that we are different and come ask. 

1 Peter 3:15 talks also about defending our faith, a practice many people call apologetics, which comes from a Greek word that means to “to give an answer for.” Apologetics is the practice of learning how to “give reason” or “justify” a doctrinal belief. It can include historical and scientific evidence for the Bible, God, and other faith matters.

In many of our practical evangelism blogs, we give examples of how you can ask your Muslim friends questions to make them think through their faith and also how to simply answer them to spur them to use their critical thinking about their religious beliefs.

You don’t need to be a strong apologist or an outgoing evangelist to be able to share your faith with your friends, including those who are Muslims. If you honor Christ in your heart, study God’s Word and obey it lovingly and faithfully, the Lord will provide you with the words you need when it’s time to share!

Prayer

Dear Lord, please help me live out 1 Peter 3:15 in my everyday life and relationships. Give me courage and wisdom to share about You to everyone who is willing to listen. Amen.